“In the fourth watch period of the night he came to them, walking over the sea.”—Matthew 14:25.
FOR millions around the world, the belief that Jesus Christ worked miracles is almost as important as belief in God himself. The Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—describe some 35 of Jesus’ miracles. Their accounts suggest, however, that he performed many more supernatural feats.—Matthew 9:35; Luke 9:11.
These miracles were not performed for entertainment. They were intrinsic to Jesus’ claim that he was the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah. (John 14:11) Moses had performed miraculous signs when he presented himself to the enslaved nation of Israel. (Exodus 4:1-9) Logically, the Messiah, the one prophesied to be greater than Moses, would also have been expected to produce some sign of divine backing. (Deuteronomy 18:15) The Bible thus calls Jesus “a man publicly shown by God to [the Jews] through powerful works and portents and signs.”—Acts 2:22.
In times past, people generally accepted without question the Bible’s portrayal of Jesus as a miracle worker. But in recent decades, the Gospel accounts have come under fire from critics. In his book Deceptions and Myths of the Bible, Lloyd Graham refers to the Bible account of Jesus walking on the water and goes so far as to say: “It takes a lot of ignorance to believe this literally, yet, literally, millions do. And then we wonder what’s wrong with our world. What better world would you expect of such ignorance?”
Impossible?
Such criticisms are not reasonable, however. The World Book Encyclopedia defines a miracle as “an event that cannot be explained through the known laws of nature.” By that definition, a color TV, a cellular phone, or a laptop computer would have been considered miracles just a century ago! Does it make sense to be dogmatic and call something impossible simply because we cannot explain it according to present scientific knowledge?
Another fact to consider: In the original Greek language in which the “New Testament” was written, the word used for “miracle” was dy′na‧mis—a word basically meaning “power.” It is also rendered “powerful works” or “ability.” (Luke 6:19; 1 Corinthians 12:10; Matthew 25:15) The Bible claims that Jesus’ miracles were a manifestation of “the majestic power of God.” (Luke 9:43) Would such works be impossible for an almighty God—One who has an “abundance of dynamic energy”?—Isaiah 40:26.
Evidence of Authenticity
A close examination of the four Gospels yields further evidence of their believability. For one thing, these accounts are markedly different from fairy tales and legends. Consider, for example, the false stories that circulated about Jesus in the centuries following his death. The apocryphal “Gospel of Thomas” relates: “When this boy Jesus was five years old . . . , he went through the village, and a lad ran and knocked against his shoulder. Jesus was exasperated and said to him: ‘You shall not go further on your way’, and the child immediately fell down and died.” It is not hard to see this story for what it is—a contrived piece of fiction. Furthermore, the capricious, mean-spirited child portrayed here bears no resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible.—Contrast Luke 2:51, 52.
Now consider the authentic Gospel accounts. They are free of exaggeration and fictitious overtones. Jesus performed miracles in response to genuine need, not to satisfy mere caprice. (Mark 10:46-52) Never did Jesus use his powers to benefit himself. (Matthew 4:2-4) And he never used them to show off. In fact, when curious King Herod wanted Jesus to perform a miraculous “sign” for him, Jesus “made him no answer.”—Luke 23:8, 9.
Jesus’ miracles also stand in stark contrast to the work of professional illusionists, magicians, and faith healers. His powerful works always glorified God. (John 9:3; 11:1-4) His miracles were free of emotional rituals, magic incantations, showy displays, trickery, and hypnotism. When Jesus encountered a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who cried, “Rabboni, let me recover sight,” Jesus simply said to him: “‘Go, your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered sight.”—Mark 10:46-52.
The Gospel records show that Jesus performed his powerful works without props, specially planned staging, or trick lighting. They were performed out in the open, often in front of numerous eyewitnesses. (Mark 5:24-29; Luke 7:11-15) Unlike attempts by modern faith healers, his efforts to heal never failed because some ailing one supposedly lacked faith. Says Matthew 8:16: “He cured all who were faring badly.”
In his book “Many Infallible Proofs:” The Evidences of Christianity, Scholar Arthur Pierson says of Christ’s miracles: “Their number, the instantaneous and complete character of the cures he wrought, and the absence of one failure in the attempt even to raise the dead, put infinite distance between these miracles and the pretended wonders of this or any other age.”
Secular Corroboration
Pierson offers yet another argument that backs the Gospel accounts when he says: “No confirmation of the miracles of scripture is more remarkable than the silence of enemies.” Jewish leaders had more than ample motive for wanting to discredit Jesus, but his miracles were so well-known that opponents dared not deny them. All they could do was attribute such feats to demonic powers. (Matthew 12:22-24) Centuries after
Jesus’ death, the writers of the Jewish Talmud continued to credit Jesus with miraculous powers. According to the book Jewish Expressions on Jesus, they dismissed him as being one who “followed the practices of magic.” Would such a comment have been made if it was even remotely possible to dismiss Jesus’ miracles as mere myth?
Further proof comes from fourth-century church historian Eusebius. In his book The History of the Church From Christ to Constantine, he quotes a certain Quadratus who sent a letter to the emperor in defense of Christianity. Quadratus wrote: “Our Saviour’s works were always there to see, for they were true—the people who had been cured and those raised from the dead, who had not merely been seen at the moment when they were cured or raised, but were always there to see, not only when the Saviour was among us, but for a long time after His departure; in fact some of them survived right up to my own time.” Scholar William Barclay observed: “Quadratus is saying that until his own day men on whom miracles had been worked could actually be produced. If that was untrue nothing would have been easier than for the Roman government to brand it as a lie.”
Belief in the miracles of Jesus is reasonable, rational, and fully in harmony with the evidence. Nevertheless, Jesus’ miracles are not dead history. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” Yes, he is alive in the heavens today, able to use miraculous powers in a far grander way than he did when on earth as a human. Furthermore, the Gospel accounts of his miracles (1) teach Christians practical lessons today, (2) reveal fascinating aspects of Jesus’ personality, and (3) point to a time in the near future when even more spectacular events will take place!
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